Gerard David: An Early Netherlandish Altarpiece Reassembled
March 21–June 18, 2017Getty Center
Installation View: Gerard David, the Christ Nailed to the Cross triptych, 1480-85, oil on panel. The National Gallery, London, Layard Bequest, 1916 (center panel); Pilate’s Dispute with the High Priest (left wing) and The Holy Women and Saint John (right wing), Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen.
Around 1500 Netherlandish artist Gerard David created exquisitely detailed devotional paintings. This exhibition reunites three dispersed parts of an early altarpiece: two dramatic wings panels (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen) and a riveting central scene, Christ Nailed to the Cross (The National Gallery, London) in which Christ locks eyes with the viewer.
Study conducted by the Getty Museum in collaboration with the Koninklijk Museum and the National Gallery, and conservation treatment at the Getty, confirm that the long-separated paintings belong together. The altarpiece is displayed along with works of the same period from the Getty’s permanent collection.
This Conservation Partnership project and exhibition have been generously supported by the J. Paul Getty Museum Paintings Council.